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sri: Jai Sreemannarayana!

The two great Acharyas (Adi Sankara and Parasara Bhatta ) about 1200 and 1000
years ago
wrote the commentaries and meaning for Sri Vishnu SahasraNama. 
Based on these commentaries, 
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra & Its Meanings in English by Sri Krishnamachari
Swami 
(This is a great service) Please find them at:

http://home.attbi.com/~surfings/sahasra/index.html

The Organization
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram as printed for chanting purposes consists of
three sections:
· A prolog, which gives the background on why the Stotram was imparted to the
great and just Yudhishthira by Bhishma.
· The thousand names of Vishnu, organized in a poetic format in 107 stanzas, in
the anushtup chandas, (a meter with eight syllables in a quarter), with two
quarters per line, and two lines per stanza.
· The phala sruti, or a recounting of the benefits that can accrue by chanting
the Stotram.
The above is the typical organization of many stotrams, for example, the
Lakshmi Ashtottara Satanama Stotram with which many of us are familiar.

The Prolog
In the introductory part of the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, Yudhishthira asks
Bhishma six questions, related to how mankind can attain happiness. These are
contained in two stanzas starting with "kim ekam daivatam loke" in the Stotram.
These questions are:
· Who is the One (Supreme) Deity?
· What is the highest goal of life?
· By praising which Deity's auspicious qualities will human beings attain
prosperity in this world as well as bliss in the next?
· By meditating on which Deity will human beings attain prosperity in this
world as well as bliss in the next?
· By reciting which mantra will man be released from the bondage of the cycle
of birth and death?
· Of the three means referred to above (i.e., recitation, praise or archana,
and meditation), which is the best means for attaining the grace of the Supreme
Deity based on your vast experience and knowledge?

Bhishma's response to the above questions follows in the next ten stanzas. 
In his considered opinion, a person tides over all the sorrows in this world by
reciting with undiluted devotion the Thousand Names of the Eternal Person, 
worshiping Him always with devotion, 
meditating upon Him, 
glorifying Him, 
saluting Him by prostrating before Him, 
and adoring Him (dhyayan, stuvan, namasyamsca, yajamanas tameva ca).

Bhishma adds that of all the dharmas, the dharma or practice involving service
done to the Lotus-eyed 
Lord Krishna, without any desire for benefit, through worship (archana) and
hymnal praise (stava), 
is the best dharma.

Note: Praising is easy, involving only speech, and does not involve any
material sacrifice or bodily exertion. 
It is open to all, and does not need help from, or dependence on, others. 
Other kinds of worship might require money or other resources to perform the
worship, or the need to impose 
on other people for their involvement (e.g., a priest to give instructions on
the method of worship etc.). 
For the purpose of chanting the name of God, there is also no constraint on the
asrama 
(i.e., brahmacharya, grihasta, etc.) to which a person belongs, unlike, for
example, the constraints that the 
vedas place in performing the ceremonial rites with sacrificial fire. 

There is also no requirement regarding time, place, status of purity, etc., for
the chanting of the stotram. 
The key element of the act of chanting as a means to attain the Lord's grace is
the sincerity and purity of mind, 
and there is no other constraint or consideration.

In summary, Yudhishthira asks Bhishma: "Given my despair and sorrowful state of
mind, I want to expend the least effort and get the most benefit out of it,
viz. relief from my despair. Please tell me the means for this." And Bhishma's
response is "Chant the thousand names of Lord Krishna WITH DEVOTION. This does
not require any effort other than the willingness to chant. This is the best
way to get relief from all miseries, sorrows, and sins".
===========================================================================
http://home.attbi.com/~surfings/sahasra/index.html






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